"Don't wake me, because I was dreaming. I might just stay inside again today. Yeah, well, I don't go out much these days. Sometimes I stay inside all day." ~counting crows

Lately I've been downloading a bunch of Counting Crows bootlegs (don't worry, it's legal; the band actually promotes the distribution of bootleg recordings of their concerts). They're one of those bands that you can't fully appreciate until you hear their live stuff. I just listened to an old recording from 1994 (Paris 12/9/94) and then I listened to one from 2004 (Rotterdam 3/10/04), and it's interesting to compare the two and see how the band changed over that 10 year period.
The 1994 recording is of one of their best concerts ever. Adam's voice is so full of emotion; it sounds so raw. They played the most beautiful version of Perfect Blue Buildings I've ever heard (and I've heard lots). The concert is the one where they played their epic version of A Murder of One. I think most true CC fans are familiar with this particular performance of the song. If you say to a CC fan, "that epic Murder of One performance," they'll probably know exactly what you're talking about. It makes me cry every time I hear it. It's about 17 minutes long and it is definitely one of the best live performances I've heard of any song by any band. It blows me away.
In the 2004 recording there doesn't seem to be as much spark. Which makes me sad. I know it's just one concert, and there are other fantastic concerts that are pretty recent (my fave is the last Hard Candy show, in Tampa). I also know that one big difference between the concerts stems from the different albums that they're touring. The 1994 tour is for August and Everything After, their only album at that point. The 2004 tour is for Hard Candy, which has a completely different feel to it. They do play a few songs from AAEA, but the focus is on HC. So I can't expect to get the same thing out of each concert. But still, I think something is missing from the newer recording that was there 10 years ago. There aren't as many alternates in the 2004 Rotterdam show. A lot of the songs are shorter. They still improvise and add new lyrics and melodies and add some alternate song snippets, and the acoustic versions of some songs are great, but Adam seems tired. Hopefully the break the band has taken will mean they're resting up and will blow everyone away with their next album and tour. There's a rumor that they'll be touring with the Goo Goo Dolls. I like them, so I'd be excited about that. I'd be excited to see CC do anything.

See what a procrastinator I am? Instead of doing all the work I have to do, I just wrote a lengthy analysis of Counting Crows bootlegs that no one will ever read. I've been updating this blog a lot lately because I don't feel like writing anything of importance, like papers. Instead I feel like writing poorly organized and written blog entries about nothing. It's nice to feel like I don't have to be brilliant or profound.

Because this is such a boring entry, I'll add a photo. Here's me and Sara Ramirez, who's currently on Grey's Anatomy (one of the best shows on television right now). She won a Tony Award for her performance in Spamalot, so I think she should join Burke and George's band on the show. She has an absolutely amazing voice, and those guys need all the help they can get. :D